Frank Ocean has really been on quite a roll: The news of his sexuality was embraced with almost universal acceptance and understanding, his album Channel Orange has put up some big sales figures in its first two weeks, and he laid out what might have been the best performance of this year’s Lollapalooza.
All that momentum makes today’s news especially disappointing, as Ocean has cancelled a handful of tour dates that included a run of European festivals and a 10-show stint as the opening act for Coldplay. “I feel like an a–hole right now,” Ocean said in a statement about the cancellations. “A tough decision had to be made in regard to my schedule over the next months.”
Ocean didn’t give any reasons for backing out of the shows, though he did have to end his performance at last weekend’s Oya Festival in Norway early thanks to vocal problems. He has struggled with those in the past, as he also cancelled what would have been his New York solo debut last year and had to back out of a show in Detroit a few days before Lollapalooza for the same reasons.
So Europe will miss its opportunity to check out Ocean’s exquisite live show, but at least the R&B lovers on the continent can rest assured that they’ll get all the groovy jams they need on R. Kelly’s Love Letter Cruise, right? OH NO.
Kelly’s cruise, which promised to be the freakiest thing on the seven seas since the Kraken, was supposed to embark on Oct. 1, but according to TMZ, he was never paid for the sea-faring adventure and thus has cancelled the whole thing. “R. Kelly had been looking forward to the cruise and was ready, willing and able to perform for fans,” a Kelly representative told TMZ. “He is sorry for any disappointment but plans to see his fans very soon on a U.S. tour.”
Though the official website for the Kelly cruise is still up as though it exists, it is no longer taking bookings. Concert Cruises LLC, the company putting on the trip, sent an e-mail to people who had purchased tickets and told them they would be refunded.
Here’s the thing: You have to assume that Kelly had a whole bunch of nautical-themed songs ready to go (“Seal Talk,” anybody?), so do you think we’ll ever get to hear those wonderful creations? Is it too much to hope for that he’ll at least wear a captain’s hat on his upcoming tour?
Source